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Potentially excellent product let down by poor wifi performance

As a concept, the idea of being able to back everything up in the background without actually having to do anything is an excellent one. To this end, the Time capsule does its job very well. Being able to look back a year ago for a file you may have deleted is also a very useful one. And its all done so seamlessly thanks to the Time machine interface on OSX.

So having everything backed up for you automatically is a good thing.

But! (you knew there was a but coming!)

The other function of the Time Capsule is as a wireless router, and its range is frankly SHOCKING. It has by far the worst range of any modem I've ever used - and I've used a few. No, it isn't because I'm using 5ghz and my walls are too thick; the Virgin Superhub also uses this band and I can still get reception in my study at the rear of the house.

So, you can only back up when in range of this router - and in my modest home this range would appear to be little more than 20-30ft through walls and floors.When in range, the data throughput is more than fine - in fact on speedtest it outperforms the superhub.

So, this is a good product let down by poor wifi range. Buy by all means, but don't rely on it as your sole router if using more than 25 ft from the Capsule.For what it does, it ought to get a 5 star rating. Fancy the boys and girls at Apple getting such a basic wrong.

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If found at a good price the time capsule has a number of applications and solutions.

After a 5 minute demo of the new Mac Book Pro in the apple shop I decided to broaden my computer knowledge beyond the Windows front, however I wasn't sure my current Windows Server 2008 would suffice as a backup holding disks formatted in NTFS instead of the apple required HFS.

I spotted the time machine, but as I only wanted a simple back up tool, I thought it was unnecessarily expensive for my needs. So I decided to look for a simple external hard drive.

A couple of weeks back I spotted the time capsule on hotukdeals for just over £100, so I decided to take the plunge. The time capsule does offer more than a lazy back up:

As a back up the time capsule works error free taking back ups every hour whilst the Mac is switched on. The initial back up takes some time, however the further ones are quicker as the time capsule only takes the changed data.

The time capsule software works well on the Mac, but there is also a Windows alternative which I haven't tried out yet.

The gigabit unmanaged switch works as expected allowing me to achieve roughly 90MB/s over my network.

The USB port is something I haven't tried as yet, however apple does advise you can connect a USB hub to the port and connect multiple devices.

The wifi works again perfectly with no connection issues encountered so far. Setting this up was quite simple and allowed me to choose a memorable SSID and password.

Cosmetically, as expected the apple logo is in place and the finish is second to none.

Overall the product is superb for my requirements and great value for money. To purchase a 500 GB drive, wireless n router and gigabit switch separately would cost considerably more.

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A mac essential!

---About the Product---

Anyone with a computer knows how important it is to back up work and vital files; and the likelyhood is that we have all lost something or other in the binary vortex of computers. However, as anyone that has read my other reviews will know - Apple provide the Time Machine software for free with every single mac they sell. This connects to the Time Capsule (Apple NAS server) to backup every single file you've ever created. And the best thing is that it does it automatically.

So, unlike the tempramental System Restore feature we see in Vista and XP, your data is completely safe with Time Capsule. The product comes in models of either 500GB or 1TB (equal to 1000GB) as well as 128-bit encryption, giving you total reassurance and safety. And the best thing is that it can connect to any number of macs in your network - because it works completely wirelessly.The Time Capsule also works with OS Tiger or PCs as a data storage device - but works much better with OSX. Moreover, it can connect either wirelessly or wired to your printer so you can print from anywhere in your home.

It looks beautiful and glossy and can sit anywhere in your home. This is definitely worth considering if you are a mac owner - especially if you work from a mac or have several computers in your house.As is the case with all Apple goods, the only problem is the price. Yet at £170 its hardly a bargain, but it isn't going to burn a hole in your wallet. Besides, losing your work could be much more expensive.